The final studio from Led Zeppelin, ‘In Through the Out Door’ served as a moving farewell from one of the biggest bands in music history.
Led Zeppelin paper bag of In Through The Out Door Album
On August 22, 1979, Led Zeppelin’s eighth studio album, In Through the Out Door, was released. Little did anyone know, it would be their final full-length recording together. A little over a year later, drummer John Bonham tragically passed away, resulting in the group’s end.
Led Zeppelin Had Just Had 3 Years Between Albums
Presence was the band’s seventh studio album, released on March 31, 1976, on Swan Song Records.
Led Zeppelin didn’t tour due to singer Robert Plant’s injuries from a car crash in Greece in 1975. Instead, the band focused on completing a concert film and soundtrack album called The Song Remains the Same. The movie was shot during three nights of concerts at Madison Square Garden in New York City in 1973. The movie was then released in October to movie theaters.
Led Zeppelin went on tour in the 1977 North American Tour—North America’s 11th and final concert tour.
Hulton Archive/Getty Images
Led Zeppelin Tour Before In Through The Out Door
Led Zeppelin’s famous show at the Pontiac Silverdome was on April 30th, 1977, in front of over 76,000 people.
In 1978, They Began Rehearsing For The New Album
The group began rehearsing material in September 1978. After six weeks, they traveled to Polar Studios in Stockholm to start recording.
What Was The Brown Paper Bag Album All About?
Led Zeppelin’s 1979 album In Through the Out Door was wrapped in a brown paper bag to surprise fans. The bag hid which of six different cover variations they would receive until they opened it.
Here Is A Look At All 12 Of The Album Covers Photos
“In Through the Out Door” departed from the band’s signature heavy rock sound. The album featured a more polished and refined sound, incorporating elements of funk, disco, and even synthesizers.
It was also the last studio album that Led Zeppelin released before the death of drummer John Bonham in 1980.
Complete Track Listing: In Through The Out Door
Side One: In the Evening South Bound Suarez Fool in the Rain Hot Dog Side Two: Carouselambra All My Love I’m Gonna Crawl
Led Zeppelin At The Silverdome - The 1977 Record-Breaking Show
Led Zeppelin at the Silverdome shattered records with their April 30th, 1977 performance. Massive ticket sales prompted the Silverdome to be concerned with how the concert would run. Especially in light of events just days before in Cincinnati. A fan of Led Zeppelin had been pushed from the third level of the Cincinnati Coliseum and died when he was hit by traffic.
With crazy high record sales, the Silverdome prepared for the show by formulating a plan. A plan which included letting the fans in early and reserving over 14,000 seats. Even with the band being late, reports say the crowd was mostly chill. When there are 70,000+ people involved though, you know there were still some moments of insanity from Led Zeppelin at the Silverdome.
Record-Breaking Stats From Led Zeppelin’s Silverdome Show
Tickets sales broke records at the time topping $847,000 (with inflation, more than 4 million dollars) for one show. Tickets sold for $10.50 before the sellout. Some fans arrived earlier on Friday afternoon. While scalpers were out selling tickets for upwards of $70. The crowd also broke the attendance record with 76,200 there to see the show.
Entire documentaries have been dedicated to delving into the show’s events for Led Zeppelin at The Silverdome. Here’s the most recent one:
Led Zeppelin played for 3 hours with no break. Jimmy Page rocked the stage with his shirt open with his bandmates, Robert Plant, John Bonham, and John Paul Jones. During that three hours, they played seventeen songs, starting with “The Song Remains the Same” and ending with “Stairway to Heaven” and wrapped with two encore songs: “Rock and Roll” and “Trampled Under Foot.”
The website LedZeppelin.com has an amazing resource of old clippings, photos and articles that cover so many of the band’s journey. It’s totally worth checking out. There is something magical about seeing all of these old tickets and photos saved and uploaded by the fans over the years. In 1977, 16-year-old Elaine Alexander of Mt Clemens said “Words can’t even explain it. It was great!”
Led Zeppelin At The Silverdome: The Set List 4/30/77
UPDATE: 4-15-2024 New Footage from Led Zeppelin at The Silverdome
Footage recently surfaced from this landmark show. It was synced with audio. While the quality isn’t perfection, it’s still by far, the best video/audio from the show that has come to light since 1977. Here’s the video.
The complete setlist from the show is below along with as many audio clips as we could find on YouTube. The quality is not good, but it’s definitely from The Led Zeppelin Silverdome show.
1. The Song Remains the Same
Led Zeppelin opened their April 1977 show at Pontiac Silverdome with “The Song Remains the Same”
2. Sick Again
3. Nobody's Fault but Mine
4. In My Time of Dying
5. Since I've Been Loving You
6. No Quarter
7. Ten Years Gone
8. The Battle of Evermore
9. Going to California
10. Black Country Woman
11. Bron-Y-Aur Stomp
12. White Summer/Black Mountain Side
13. Kashmir
14. Moby Dick
15. Guitar Solo
16. Achilles Last Stand
While we are lucky to have any recordings of this event, YouTube can be fickle and there is no video/audio listed for this song (from the Silverdome show). Here’s an alternate performance from L.A. on the same tour:
17. Stairway to Heaven
18. Rock and Roll
Again, YouTube seems to not want to work with this particular song, however you can watch/listen to it on YouTube. OR, check out this video and audio someone HOOKED up from MSG in 1973.
19. Trampled Underfoot
Born in Mt Clemens, Screamin’ Scott has been a part of the Detroit airwaves for 30-plus years. With 40 years of experience in radio. When he’s not out on the streets for WCSX, you can find him devoting time to local charities with his, “Screamin Angels”; and for 16 years with Rock 4 Tots charity. And last 10 years with his local band, "Chit!." Screamin Scott likes to write about nostalgic Detroit area memories, classic rock, and local metro Detroit topics.
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